exciting anthology

Current work: archaeologist c10/11
Listening to: Genesis, Calling All Stations (I like this album. A lot.)
Reading: Nicola Cornick, The Virtuous Cyprian (very good)

The Modern Heat/Sexy Sensation releases seem to have skipped a couple of months in Aus. I was a bit disappointed to think that Giovanni wouldn’t see the light of day (especially as it’s my 25th)… and I was just fossicking on the Aussie M&B site (as all paranoid authors do) when I discovered something… Am very excited to be in such company.

The radio interviews went really well yesterday; followed by a useful session in the library. I need to consolidate my notes and write them up properly, and then I can see where the gaps are.

Also had some really good post – as in my December paperbacks arrived yesterday. Both have nice covers - The Doctor's Very Special Christmas has a bauble and One Night, One Baby has a couple by a cathedral and lamp-posts (nooo... I haven't repeated the lamp-posts!). But, best of all – despite the fact that One Night, One Baby isn’t an October release, it’s been flagged as part of the Breast Cancer Campaign and 10p from each book is being donated. I am SO PLEASED. Apart from the fact that I’m doing the publicity for the M&B support for the campaign, it’s a cause close to my heart. I think my mum would approve of the way I’m making something bad into a way to help others, as she used to do a lot to promote the British Heart Foundation and became a cardiac nurse because her mum died from a heart condition. (I’ll spare you the gooey stuff, but my mum was the nicest person I’ve ever met and someone I admire deeply.)

Bit tired last night so I ended up loafing and watching Nigella. (Her version of eggy bread looked lovely… except not coated in that much sugar and I’d add a little cinnamon with the vanilla.) I have severe envy of her pantry. Cue much whimpering of ‘why can’t I have a pantry like that?’ and DH saying, ‘Well, you can, if you convert your office…’ – no, my books do not move…

Plan for today: school run, radio interview, guitar lesson, radio interview, school run – and in between work on fiction. (My lovely ed is being so nice about this. She knows I'm back in the land of the living and hasn't put any pressure on me.)

and a bit of good news

To my relief, my ed liked the revisions (and yes, I DO always worry about it; I also worry that my readers are going to hate my new book. However, this is a good thing because it means I have my readers in mind and I’m not trying to fob them off with something I know isn’t good enough – I want to make each book the best possible).

So my seventh Modern Extra will be out in March 2008. Sadly, I didn’t get to keep my working title of ‘In the Heat of the Night’; the new one is ‘Sold to the Highest Bidder’. I’m also very pleased to say that Breakfast at Giovanni’s is going to be on sale retail in the US – albeit under a new title (In Bed with Her Italian Boss) - in September next year. So I’m doing a little happy dance this morning. (And I’m also working on my Spanish doctor. And trying to convince the hero and heroine of my next book - another MX - that they can wait until I get back from holiday before jumping about in my head. Though at the same time I really appreciate having my muse back!)